THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome Abraham Ancer from Fireballs GC. You're currently the solo leader in the clubhouse. You fired a 7-under bogey-free round today. Tell us a little bit about your day.
ABRAHAM ANCER: Yeah, definitely really happy with pretty much everything today. Put a lot of hard work on my swing, which the stats will say that I've been hitting the ball pretty good this year, but there's some stuff that I feel that I need to work on. But it was really nice off the tee. Hit some really good shots in there, and I rolled it nicely. When I put myself in a tough spot, I was able to get up-and-down, which keeps the round going. So extremely happy the way I fought today. Even the last hole I put myself in a tough spot and then made a longish putt for par, which was really nice. You don't want to finish in a bogey.
Q. Obviously you've been playing really well this year. The consistency is there. You won in Hong Kong. You're consistently at the top of the leaderboard. Can you talk a little bit about your game this year and what's clicked for you?
ABRAHAM ANCER: Yeah, I think just mentally I'm in a better spot I feel like. I think my first year, year and a half was a little bit tougher. I think I was putting maybe too much pressure on myself, trying to prove something, instead of just going out there and playing.
I feel like this year I feel a lot more free. I'm playing -- you can see I'm playing a lot more solid, a lot more consistent.
Swing-wise, I still have a lot of work to do. There's still a lot of things that I need to get back to where I want my swing to be, but still, as you grow as a player, your swing might change here and there. You've just got to keep it in check, and I'm going through one of those processes of keeping it in check and moving it back where it's supposed to be. I don't want to get too technical, but yeah, it's trending in the right direction, which is nice.
Q. Would you say confidence breeds more confidence?
ABRAHAM ANCER: A hundred percent, yes. The win in Hong Kong was huge, and I guess in the fashion that I did it, it wasn't the most stress-free way to do it, but definitely gives you a little more confidence just to make the putts that you need to make or hit the shots that you need to hit at the right time, so definitely.
Q. Just quick reactions on Nashville and the golf course and the fans?
ABRAHAM ANCER: Everything has been great. The golf course is in perfect condition. The people have been super supportive. The party hole has been incredible. Looks like everybody is having a great time, and it's been great. I think it's only going to get better.
Q. This doesn't seem like a course that is exactly the same as Hong Kong. When you got here, did you feel like, is this course going to fit your game?
ABRAHAM ANCER: No, I like to think that wherever I go I can compete, so I don't like to be thinking that way. Like we talked in Hong Kong, I feel like I get to some golf courses where I'm supposed to play good and just put too much pressure and just ended up playing terribly. I don't like to see it that way. I like to just figure out the best way to play it and try to post a number. But it definitely is a golf course where the long hitters can be a little stress-free off the tee and really let it fly and have shorter irons. If a long hitter is hitting it straight here, it's a big-time advantage because the greens are a little bit firmer and they have a lot of movement, so it's definitely a lot easier coming in with a short iron than let's say hitting a 7-iron or a 6-iron.
Stats definitely don't say that I should be up there, but I don't really believe in them.
Q. Obviously you winning earlier this year, Carlos winning in Houston, you guys are going to be Olympic teammates. It just seems like things are trending for both you guys right now.
ABRAHAM ANCER: Yeah, it's nice. Carlos has been playing really good for a while, and I feel like my game has been trending this year nicely, as well. We've just got to make sure to take care of business from here to there and see what we can do, but it would be pretty incredible to bring a medal to Mexico. That would be amazing.
Q. After shooting such a strong round, what's your approach to round 2, not staying stuck in that first round?
ABRAHAM ANCER: I just try to forget about it. I feel like with this sport, even if you had a great round or a terrible round, it doesn't really help to be thinking about it too much, so I forget about it, go about my routine, same as yesterday, and then do the same thing tomorrow. Try not to be thinking where I'm at on the leaderboard, just trying to figure out every shot at a time, and that's really -- it sounds kind of boring, but that's just the way I do things.
Q. Do you have your eye on the standings at all? Do you know where you are right now, and do you keep track of that?
ABRAHAM ANCER: Yeah. You mean for the season or for the day? Yeah, I know where I'm at. I don't look at it while I'm in the tournament, but pretty much when I'm traveling after the tournament I like to see what people moved up and down or if I moved up and down.
I know I'm probably ninth in the individual standings, and as a team we're in eighth. We need to get our butt in gear as a team. We're hungry for that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports